THE MESSOLONGHI BYRON SOCIETY

16th International Student Byron Conference

Dedicated to the 200th Anniversary of the ‘Exodus’ of Messolonghi (10 April 1826)

Messolonghi 18 – 23 May 2026

Theme: BYRON AND FREEDOM

The Greek Revolution, the ‘Romantic Revolution’ and the making of the modern world

Yet, Freedom! yet thy Banner, torn, but flying,

Streams like the Thunder-storm against the Wind … (CHP IV)

In April 2026 the town of Missolonghi commemorates 200 years since the doomed ‘Exodus’ of its defenders at the climax of a year-long siege that quickly became an emblem, for the rest of the world, of the Greek struggle for freedom during the Revolution that began in 1821. Two years earlier, almost to the day, Lord Byron had died there of fever; the violent recapture of Missolonghi by the Ottomans marked a turning point in the conflict, and brought foreign governments, for the first time, to take a hand. Byron’s death in April 1824 and the destruction of the town where he had lived for the last 3 months of his life have left a double legacy: to Greece as the first new nation state to be created in 19th-century Europe and to the fortunes of the Romantic movement in the arts.

This conference will focus on the many meanings and contexts of the word ‘freedom’ in Byron’s work and life, in the history of the ‘Romantic Revolution’, in the shaping of modern Greek history, culture and literature, and on the legacy of each of these to later times.

Proposals are invited for scholarly contributions addressing any one or more of these themes. Among other topics, presentations might focus on such matters as

–Byron’s influence on international philhellenism and on the Greek Revolution

–Byron and ‘freedom’s battle’ back in England

–Byron and the Carbonari

–Byron, censorship, and freedom of the press

–Literary and political heirs to Byron’s libertarian legacy

–Visual, musical, and dramatic representations of Byron’s theme of freedom

Please send proposals by

22 January 2026

to Professor Roderick Beaton (rod.beaton@kcl.ac.uk ),

Professor Peter Graham (peterwgraham@gmail.com )

and Professor Andrew Stauffer ( amstauff@gmail.com)

with a copy to Mrs. Rodanthi-Rosa Florou (byronlib@gmail.com ).

Detailed descriptions of the previous International Student Byron Conferences can be found on the Messolonghi Byron Society’s website, www.messolonghibyronsociety.gr

The Organizing and Academic Committees